Memo field manipulation

[cawalton1]

Is there a way to read up to 16 records (max length 250 characters) and concatenate them in such a way as to form a �paragraph� for printing?
Currently these records are printed one after the other on the the report, whereas they are really all part of one paragraph of instructions. The records that are to be part of the paragraphs are selected from a much larger set of records, and the specific records are selected at the time of printing.
I am not familiar with the variable �memo� and did not find any extensive write-up on its use and manipulation in my manual. How do I find memo use discussion in the event that this is a possible solution. On the �Board� in one place they were referred to as super-sized character fields

[martinwcole]

Re: Memo field manipulation

I don't think it can be done with action scripting, but it could be done with a custom script in xbasic.

There are certain issues - like, how would you know which records to "append" to which record?

Would any of the records to combine possibly have carriage returns at their end?

[forskare]

Re: Memo field manipulation

Ahhh, Yes, Memo fields, an interesting subject indeed. Memo fields have a lot of possibilities providing they are not used in reports. What you see on a form for data entry is not necessarily what you'll get in a report. So far, because of HTML and RTMF limitations for use in a report, I can only use a regular memo field which makes the narrative portion of A5 very elementary, to say the least.

I agree with Martin. You first need a way to ID which sentences you will use. My thought is to use a particular word and then use a search string for that word. Next would be the way/where to place it which goes back to the word.

Perhaps an easier way might be to use "canned paragraphs" which can be placed in a separate table and selected from a dropdown field. I'm doing that now with sentences. You could use "canned sentences" instead of paragraphs and select the sentences you will use by the use of a checkbox. In other words, say you have a dozen sentences, any number of which might form the paragraph. The sentences are in a separate table used as a lookup and when you enter the field which will display the accumulation of sentences, a browse appears in a popup window which shows the sentences and you select what you need by us of a checkbox. Of course, they need to be in the order in which they would appear in a paragraph.

I have no idea how workable this will be but at least it's a concept that can be explored.

kenn, will watch this thread with keen interest.

[martinwcole]

Re: Memo field manipulation

Ken, I use memos and RTF memos in reports - what difficulty do you have using them?

[forskare]

Re: Memo field manipulation

Ken, I use memos and RTF memos in reports - what difficulty do you have using them?

My problem in this instance is located here: http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...370#post552370

If the RTMF is used on the Detail section of the main report, It's OK but in a sub-report, that's another story. Then again, I had to use a regular memo field in another report on the same app because RTMF issues.

As fantastic as A5 is, it does have its issues. But then, what software doesn't??

kenn

[cawalton1]

Re: Memo field manipulation

To answer some questions:
The sentences are originally imported into a table from a text file, each sentence ending in <CR><LF>. ( I have no idea if the CR/LF is in the field since I ALLTRIM when I occasionally add an additional piece of related information by way of a calculated field.) As each sentence is imported it is assigned an index number that has a code imbedded in the eight character field.
When the sentences are needed, they are �selected� by knowing the code in the index and then copied into a table with the code and the sentence. Currently, the coded index is subdivided into three parts so that each part is �related� to a table of identifications that are printed along with the sentences. In a paragraph form, only the lowest classification would accompany the sentence into the paragraph. The other two parts of the codes are nomenclature and are printed in their own fields to the left of the (hopefully) paragraph.
Currently, this table of sentences is just printed line by line. The sentence field is in a Rich Text field to allow for expansion.
Ken, I believe I�m now doing what you suggest, only different on assembling, but subject to the limit of 255 characters in the sentences (plus the related information which extends my limit of characters).
Where do I read up on memo fields and RTMF?

[martinwcole]

Re: Memo field manipulation

Sounds like "boilerplate"

you could let a user select by either adding a field to the table containing the text 255 character field, like "selected, L" or marking the records they want to put together, and then having a special table for your report containing a memo field (think variable length field), that you would zap, and one by one add the text from the records to the memo field, and then edit it (if necessary), and add any crlf's needed, etc., and print it.

are you at all familiar with doing things with xbasic?

[cawalton1]

Re: Memo field manipulation

Martin: I already have "you could let a user select by either adding a field to the table containing the text 255 character field, like "selected, L" or marking the records they want to put together, and then having a special table for your report containing." What I do not have is teh xbasic for use of the memo fields. I have been using xbasic in minor ways in apps I've worked on.
So, how does one use xbasic to "stuff" the memo field with multiple "fields" of information? How does one represent that field on the report?

[martinwcole]

Re: Memo field manipulation

create a table that will be repopulated every time you print the report

lets call if c_report
give it one character field, and 1 memo field named "reporttext"
say the name of the table containg the records is "mytable," and say the name of the field containing the text you want to glue together is "myfield" -c,255

You didn't mention how you are "selecting" the records, but here is something you could try

t1=table.open("c_report")
t1.zap(.t.)
t1.close()
t1=table.open("c_report")
t2=table.open("mytable")
query.filter=""
query.order=""
query.options=""
query.filter="marked()" 'one possibility
idx=t2.query_create()
t2.fetch_first()
t1.enter_begin()
while .not. t2.fetch_eof()
     temp=alltrim(t2.myfield)
     t1.reporttext=t1.reporttext + temp + " " 'add a space between sentences
     t2.fetch_next()
end while
t1.enter_end()
t1.close()
idx.drop()
t2.close()

one thing missing here is the order you want for selecting the text records. you could add a field to the table called "orderby" -n,3 and let the user number the order of the records, unless recor number order is satisfactory.

try this and see how well it works.

you may want other fields in the table, like client name, etc to use in the report, but hopefully this will give you an idea. you will end up with one record with a memo containing all the records glued together